The search for Israel\u2019s representative continues unabated, as on last night, we had the screening of the\u00a0twenty-second episode of\u00a0HaKokhav Haba 2026, Israel\u2019s selection process for this year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest. \u00a0This is Israel\u2019s established television show for selecting the artist who will represent the country in the contest. With the exception of 2022 and 2023, HaKokhav Haba has produced all of the country\u2019s Eurovision representatives since 2015, with excellent results, including a victory in 2018 with Netta.<\/p>\n
The Format<\/p>\n
In the HaKokhav Haba format, participants perform a song with the aim of securing at least 70% of the vote. This score is derived from the combined votes of the audience (watching the show in the studio) and the judges, with each judge contributing up to 12% to the final score.<\/p>\n
Presenters and Judging Panel<\/p>\n
Rotem Sela and Assi Azar, one of the presenters of Eurovision in 2019, will remain as presenters of the show for another year. Azar has been a presenter since the first season of HaKokhav Haba in 2013, while Rotem Sela took over as host in the second season, a role she continues to this day. Following the departure of Ran Danker, the judging panel consists of:<\/p>\n
Assaf Amdursky
\nKeren Peles
\nShiri Maimon
\nEden Hasson
\nItay Levy<\/p>\n
Their vast experience from different backgrounds guarantees a more competitive season, which will keep viewers\u2019 interest unabated, even more so than last season. In tonight\u2019s episode, the guest judges were Netta Barzilai, Israel\u2019s representative and winner of the 2018 contest and Dana International, Israel\u2019s representative and winner of the 1998 contest.<\/p>\n
With Stav Vaknin\u2018s departure in the previous episode, the lineup now consists of:\u00a0Agam Hazan, Elior Shemesh, Daniel Azar, Portrait Band, Gili Tsanaani, Alona Erez,\u00a0 Shaked Solomon, Noam Bettan, Gal De Paz, Dorin Or, Tamir Levy, Eitan Aharon, Nave Levi, Michael HarPaz and Shira Zloof.<\/p>\n
The show has now moved on to the next phase, \u201cDuels.\u201d In yesterday\u2019s episode, eight contestants took to the stage, facing off against each other. According to the format, the judges will be asked to choose one participant from the ones that lost in their duels to leave the competition.<\/p>\n
Contestants and Their Performances<\/p>\n
Here are the eight contestants from yesterday\u2019s episode, with\u00a0one\u00a0contestant leaving the competition:<\/p>\n
Portrait Band: Portrait performed Hamsa\u2019s \u201cAta Chayav Lamut Alay,\u201d demonstrating their obvious stage experience with an energetic performance and garnering 77% of the vote, losing the duel.
\nDorin Or: Facing Portrait was Dorin, who chose to sing Eleni Vitali\u2019s \u201cNais Balamo.\u201d Having the courage to sing in Greek, she gave a tremendously moving and emotional performance, garnering 81% of the vote, and as the winner of the duel, she automatically advances to the next round.
\nEitan Aharon: Eitan sang Boaz Sharabi\u2019s \u201cTni Li Yad.\u201d He sang in an impressive way and with a dynamic, mature performance, garnering 87% of the votes, winning the duel and advancing to the next round.
\nShaked Solomon: Shaked competed against Eitan, performing Margalit Tzanani\u2019s song \u201cKol Kakh Mukar,\u201d a risky choice as the style did not suit him particularly well, and with 67% he lost the duel.
\nGili Tsanaani: Gili chose to sing Meghan Trainor\u2019s \u201cMe Too,\u201d a beautiful performance that didn\u2019t seem to suit her, as she couldn\u2019t sing properly while dancing, and with 64% she lost the duel.
\nGal De Paz: Gal faced Gili and performed Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cVampire\u201d on a stage filled with candles, giving an amazing performance and winning the duel with 77% of the vote to advance to the next stage.
\nDaniel Azar: In the last duel, Daniel sang Eviatar Banai\u2019s \u201cMatanot\u201d and with incredible vocal skills proved that he is one of the strongest and most distinctive performers in this year\u2019s competition, but with 61% he lost the duel.
\nShira Zloof: Opposite Daniel was Shira, who performed her own song \u201cMa\u2019ariv LeNoar,\u201d she moved everyone in the audience, clearly giving the best performance of the night. With her charisma, she garnered 83% of the vote and advances to the next round as the winner of the duel.<\/p>\n
At the end of the evening, the judges had to choose between Portrait, Shaked, Gili \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 Daniel, the players who lost their duels, and ultimately \u00a0Gili Tsanaani\u00a0is the one who bids farewell to the competition.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s winner of HaKokhav Haba and the country\u2019s representative at Eurovision 2025 was\u00a0Yuval Raphael, who performed\u00a0\u201cNew Day Will Rise\u201d\u00a0on stage in Basel and finished in second place:<\/p>\n
Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the latest updates on the Israeli selection process!<\/p>\n